I know it might seem like I sit at home all day long, drinking beer and updating The Blarg, but the truth is I spend much of my day writing.

Lately, most of my writing has been on long-form projects. Because of this, I sometimes write a short (most times comedic, other times not so much) to break up the monotony of those longer projects. But while these shorts are fun to write as an exercise, nobody ever really gets to read them.

To remedy this, I’ve decided to share them here. I’m doing this for two reasons:

1. I like to share! That, and it’s better than having them sit on my computer.

2. It’s my hope that someone might be inspired to actually do something creative with them. Want to film one as a short? Awesome. Interested in animating one? Go for it. Feel like performing one live onstage? I dare you. All I ask is that you give me credit where it’s due, and (if possible) send me a copy of the final product.

The twenty-sixth of Shady’s Shorts is called “You Are (Not) The Father.”

I know it might seem like I sit at home all day long, drinking beer and updating The Blarg, but the truth is I spend much of my day writing.

Lately, most of my writing has been on long-form projects. Because of this, I sometimes write a short (most times comedic, other times not so much) to break up the monotony of those longer projects. But while these shorts are fun to write as an exercise, nobody ever really gets to read them.

To remedy this, I’ve decided to share them here. I’m doing this for two reasons:

1. I like to share! That, and it’s better than having them sit on my computer.

2. It’s my hope that someone might be inspired to actually do something creative with them. Want to film one as a short? Awesome. Interested in animating one? Go for it. Feel like performing one live onstage? I dare you. All I ask is that you give me credit where it’s due, and (if possible) send me a copy of the final product.

The twenty-fifth of Shady’s Shorts is called “Real Conversations: Hunger.”

Unlike previous Shady’s Shorts, “Real Conversations” will be an ongoing series of shorts that document actual conversations I’ve either recently overheard or had with people. The third of this series is titled “Hunger.”

Because of my fear, I started up a pretty serious ritual of very specific things I’d have to do in order to get on a plane.

This used to include a fair amount of prescription pills and booze (to be read: I should probably be dead), but it also included talking to the pilots before takeoff, carrying a long list of “good luck” items in my pockets, and wearing the same t-shirt and boxers on every single flight.

If you were ever on a plane with me from 2006 through this year, I was wearing this t-shirt and these boxer shorts.

No shit. I wore those same two articles of clothing (obviously, along with a few other items) on every single flight for the last nine years.

My wife and I took a shitload of flights during that time: Germany (four times); Poland; Czech Republic; France; Thailand; South Korea; Hong Kong; Turkey; Belgium, and Hungary, and that’s not even including all of the flights we took within the States. And on each and every one of those flights, I was wearing my Mickey Mouse t-shirt and my strongman boxers.

A couple weeks ago, I flew back to L.A. for meetings… without wearing either of them. Just like the prescription meds, booze, and talking to the pilots before takeoff, I’ve been able to let go of yet another aspect of my ritual.

Though I do still carry a few items in my pocket for good luck. Someday, maybe that will change, too.